Local News

Affordable Dental Care for Older Aussies - Sharkie

13 March 2019

The Member for Mayo has pledged to advocate for dental affordability for older South Australians as part of her Federal Election Campaign.

Rebekha Sharkie will lobby the elected Federal Government to provide aged pensioners with $1000 dollar dental vouchers every two years. She said many of her constituents cannot afford to maintain oral health which has knock-on effects,

“I have the oldest electorate in South Australia and the high cost of dental care is a concern often raised with my office and, more recently, in the 21 Community Forums I hosted across the electorate.

“I had one older gentleman come to see me in some distress because he was using an adhesive he was not supposed to be using in order to keep his broken dentures intact.

“He was suffering from mouth ulcers and his diet, and his general health, were deteriorating as a result.

“Surely we can do better for our older Australians?” Ms Sharkie said.

While it will cost nearly $1.57 billion dollars over two years, the Member for Mayo says it will be worth it in preventative costs. The Australian Dental Association estimates the medical complications resulting from poor oral health of older Australians costs the nation a billion dollars a year.